Genestealer Cults & The Deathwatch Coming To Warhammer 40,000?

May 6, 2015 by brennon

Rumours have popped up online recently surrounding whispers of both Genestealer Cults and the Deathwatch returning to the fold of Warhammer 40,000 from Games Workshop. While this, right now at least, sounds like it could be simple wishlisting Games Workshop have been breaking out the oldies (like the new Assassins & Adeptus Mechanicus) recently...

Cultist From Another Mother

Genestealer Cult
The first batch of rumours focuses in on the Genestealer Cults and word of both two plastic character models alongside three plastic unit boxes that would supplement it. So far the thinking revolves around...

  • Genestealer Cult Magos
  • Unspecificed 'Large Cranium' Model
  • Genestealer Hybrids
  • Genestealer Cultists
  • Cult Truck

...which all sounds fairly awesome if it were to come true, although I'm not sure on the truck. The Magos is presented (Apparently. Take lots of salt with all of this remember) with a staff and robe in the classic depiction.

Old Fashioned Genestealer Cult

In terms of units the Hybrids are meant to represent the more mutated versions of the Cultists with more obvious Tyranid arms and legs alongside human weaponry. They'd be on 32mm bases too so slightly larger. By comparison the Cultists are more in keeping with the 'human' aspect of the Cult wearing human armour but with Tyranid style weapons perhaps.

Last but not least is that Truck which immediately sounds utterly stupid to me and I really hope it doesn't become a reality. Please no 'Limousines' again!

Deathwatch Incoming

The second batch of information drips in surrounding the Deathwatch Space Marines, a group of utter bad asses drawn from a variety of different Chapters to serve together in a special operations style affair to take down Xenos threats on a more personal level. Think of them as The Night's Watch (minus the crime) or XCOM of the 41st Millennium.

Deathwatch Space Marines

The kit is said to be based on one that already exists; the Sternguard. New options include a variety of different chapter shoulder pads to represent the various home worlds alongside new weapons, equipment, heads and accessories to make them look as individual as possible.

What Could It Mean?

This is purely speculation of course but what this all sounds like is either Games Workshop pushing two separate releases with the Genestealer Cult getting their own HalfDex (my new term for their weird Codices that never have everything in them) and the Deathwatch getting the same OR it's someone catching onto the tail end of another board game project from the boys in Nottingham.

Deathwatch Artwork

With Assassinorum: Execution Force actually going down quite well with fans of the grim dark I could see them pitting a team of Deathwatch Space Marines against a Genestealer Cult in a similar style to how the later was presented.

Four Deathwatch Marines, a handful of these new Genestealer Cultists and a bunch of new tiles and scenarios to play on. Who knows, maybe they even make it so that you could do a bit of mixing and matching between these further down the line.

This angle certainly sounds more plausible to me than two brand new armies/supplements.

What do you think?

"...the Hybrids are meant to represent the more mutated versions of the Cultists with more obvious Tyranid arms and legs alongside human weaponry"

"I could see them pitting a team of Deathwatch Space Marines against a Genestealer Cult in a similar style board game..."

Related Games

Related Companies